U.S. patent number 4,121,832 [Application Number 05/773,907] was granted by the patent office on 1978-10-24 for golf putter.
Invention is credited to Raymond A. Ebbing.
United States Patent |
4,121,832 |
Ebbing |
October 24, 1978 |
Golf putter
Abstract
A golf club for putting comprising a variably configurable head
which includes a carrier body having a demountably attached striker
insert assembly. The striker insert assembly is formed with a
cavity for containing removable weights and may be attached in
various ways to the carrier body to change the loft and/or convert
the club from right hand to left hand.
Inventors: |
Ebbing; Raymond A. (Phoenix,
AZ) |
Family
ID: |
25099686 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/773,907 |
Filed: |
March 3, 1977 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/335; 473/288;
473/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
53/007 (20130101); A63B 53/0425 (20200801); A63B
53/0416 (20200801); A63B 53/0429 (20200801) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
53/00 (20060101); A63B 53/04 (20060101); A63B
053/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/77R,78,80.1,164,167-175,79 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2,416 OF |
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1894 |
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5,741 OF |
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1891 |
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Primary Examiner: Apley; Richard J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Haynes, Jr.; Herbert E.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A golf club for putting comprising:
a. an elongated carrier body with an integral hosel and having
parallel opposite first and second side surfaces extending
longitudinally thereof, said carrier body having a passage formed
therethrough so as to extend between the first and second side
surfaces thereof with the passage of uniform cross section to form
an identically configured opening in each of the first and second
side surfaces;
b. a shaft affixed on one of its ends to the hosel of said carrier
body and extending therefrom;
c. an insert assembly having an impact face formed thereon said
insert assembly demountably affixed in the passage of said carrier
body with the impact face thereof protruding from the passage of
said carrier body; and
d. said insert assembly having an exterior configuration which
substantially matches the interior configuration of the passage of
said carrier body so that said insert assembly is reversibly and
invertibly positionable in the passage of said carrier body to
allow optional orientation of the impact face relative to said
carrier body.
2. A golf club for putting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
insert assembly is demountably affixed in the passage of said
carrier body so that the impact face is positioned adjacent the
first side surface of said carrier body.
3. A golf club for putting as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
insert assembly is demountably affixed in the passage of said
carrier body so that the impact face is positioned adjacent the
second side surface of said carrier body.
4. A golf club for putting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the impact
face of said insert assembly is angularly disposed and said insert
assembly is demountably affixed in the passage of said carrier body
so that the impact face slopes angularly upwardly from the bottom
of said insert assembly toward said carrier body.
5. A golf club for putting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the impact
face of said insert assembly is angularly disposed and said insert
assembly is demountably affixed in the passage of said carrier body
so that the impact face slopes angularly downwardly from the top of
said insert assembly toward said carrier body.
6. A golf club for putting comprising:
a. an elongated carrier body having an integral hosel and an
opposed pair of parallel side surfaces extending longitudinally
thereof, said carrier body having a rectangular passage extending
therethrough between the opposed side surfaces and forming
identical openings in each of the opposed side surfaces of said
carrier body;
b. a shaft affixed to the hosel of said carrier body and extending
therefrom;
c. a striker insert of rectangular configuration optionally
positioned within either one of the identical openings formed in
the opposed side surfaces of said carrier body;
d. a retainer plate of rectangular configuration positioned within
the other one of the identical openings formed in the side surfaces
of said carrier body;
e. at least one vertically disposed upright formed in the
rectangular passage of said carrier body and integral therewith,
said upright recessed from the identical openings formed in the
opposed side surfaces of said carrier body and interposed between
said striker insert and said retainer plate; and
f. means for demountably interconnecting said striker insert and
said retainer plate to hold them in bearing engagement with said
interposed upright.
7. A golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said striker insert is
formed with an impact face extending longitudinally thereof and an
opposite surface in which a cavity is formed.
8. A golf club as claimed in claim 7 and further comprising at
least one weight demountably positioned in the cavity formed in
said striker insert.
9. A golf club as claimed in claim 6 wherein said striker insert is
formed with an impact face extending longitudinally thereof and an
opposite surface, the impact face sloping angularly toward the
opposite surface to provide said golf club with a loft.
10. A golf club as claimed in claim 9 wherein said striker insert
is invertibly positionable in said carrier body to allow inverting
of the loft provided by the impact face of said striker insert.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to a
golf putter having a variably configurable head.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known to golfing enthusiasts, golfing equipment
manufacturers and others interested in the game, various putting
styles, types of putters, practice equipment, and the like have
been developed in attempts to master the skill. Among other
considerations, such as the ability to read a green, development of
the senses and timing required for aiming, gaging distances and
stroking the ball, selection of a putter which feels right to the
golfer is a very important factor. In attempting to obtain a putter
having the right feel, a golfer may try several styles of putters
before deciding which one feels right to him, and oftentimes will
change putters when one he has been using, maybe for years, no
longer feels right, or when he is attempting to correct problems
which have developed in his putting.
In some instances, golfers have been known to change putters in
accordance with the condition of the green, for example, on a wet
green he will use a heavier putter than he would on a dry
green.
To the best of my knowledge, all prior art putters employ a head
which is cast or otherwise formed as a solid one-piece structure
which leaves little or no possibility for a golfer to modify the
head to suit himself. Thus, if a golfer wants to change his putter,
for whatever reason, he must search through the tremendous number
of commercially available putters until he finds one that suits, or
most nearly suits, his requirements.
For the above reasons, golf equipment manufacturers provide a
tremendous variety of putter styles, and many golfers own more than
one. In addition to being expensive, from a manufacturing
standpoint, and confusing as well as expensive from the user's
standpoint, this condition creates problems for the retail supplier
in that he must obtain and display a tremendous number of putters
if he hopes to do a reasonable business in that area.
The magnitude of the above described problems will be easily
understood upon consideration of the fact that many currently
available putter styles must be fabricated and supplied in both
right and left hand configurations.
Therefore, the need exists for a new and improved golf putter
having a variably configurable head which overcomes some of the
problems of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved golf
putter having a variably configurable head is disclosed as
including a carrier body to which a striker insert assembly is
demountably attached.
The striker insert assembly is provided with a cavity formed
therein for containing removable weights so that the golfer can
easily alter the weight of his putter to suit his personal
preference or to suit the present playing conditions of the putting
green.
The carrier body and the striker insert assembly are both
especially configured so that the insert assembly can be mounted so
as to face in either of the opposite directions relative to the
carrier body, thus allowing the putter to be changed from a right
hand to a left hand configuration. Also, the striker insert assemly
can be inverted relative to the carrier body so that a given loft
provided on the impact face of the striker insert assembly can be
reversed.
Further, with the striker insert assembly being demountably
attached to the carrier body, various designs of striker assemblies
may be carried by the golfer and attached thereto to suit his
preferences. For example, a striker insert assembly of a relatively
standard configuration, may be easily replaced by the golfer with
another configuration, such as that which is known as a mallet
head, to achieve a different feel, and/or a striker insert assembly
of a given loft may be replaced with one having a different
loft.
Thus, the golf putter of the present invention will be seen to
provide the golfer with a putter that he can modify to suit his
personal preferences, and which substantially reduces the variety
of putter styles and configurations that must be manufactured and
displayed for purchaser consideration.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
new and improved golf club for putting.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved golf putter having a variably configurable head.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved golf putter having a variably configurable head to allow a
golfer to modify the putter to suit his personal preferences or to
suit the conditions of the putting green.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved putter having a variably configurable head which is easily
disassembled to provide access to an internal cavity for the
addition or removal of weights therefrom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved golf putter having a variably configurable head which
includes a carrier body and a demountably attached striker insert
assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved putter having a variably configurable head which includes
a carrier body to which a striker insert assembly is demountably
attached and may be assembled to the carrier body so as to provide
either a right or left hand configuration.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new
and improved putter having a variably configurable head which
includes a carrier body to which a striker insert assembly may be
demountably attached in either an upright or inverted position so
as to reverse the loft of the impact face of the insert
assembly.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved putter having a variably configured head which includes a
standard carrier body that is adapted to receive any of a plurality
of different styles of striker insert assemblies.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention, as well
as the invention itself, may be more fully understood from the
following description when read in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the golf club for putting of the
present invention which illustrates the various features
thereof.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric exploded view of the variably
configurable head for the golf putter of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG.
1.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the
golf putter of the present invention which is indicated generally
by the reference numeral 10. The putter 10 is seen to include the
usual shaft 11 and grip 12 which are attached to the hosel 13 of
the variably configurable head 14.
As seen best in FIG. 2, the variably configurable head 14 includes
a carrier body 16, a striker insert 18, and a retainer plate 20,
with the striker insert 18 and the retainer plate 20 forming a
striker insert assembly which is demountably attached to the
carrier body 16 as will hereinafter be described in detail.
The carrier body 16 is formed with an upper wall 22, a lower or
sole wall 23, a toe wall 24 and a heel wall 25 which define a first
planar surface 26 and a spaced parallel second planar surface 28. A
central opening or passage 30 of elongated generally rectangular
configuration and of uniform cross section is formed through the
body 16 so as to extend between and form identically configured
openings in the first and second planar surfaces 26 and 28, with
the walls 22, 23, 24, and 25 forming an endless perimeter around
the opening. The central opening 30 formed in the carrier body 16
is provided with a spaced pair of uprights 32 and 34 formed therein
so as to extend between the upper and sole walls 22 and 23,
respectively, the uprights serving to structurally strengthen the
carrier body 16 and, as will be described, act as stops for proper
mounting of the striker insert assembly to the carrier body 16.
As is customary in the golf club art, the hosel 13 is integral with
the carrier body 16 and extends angularly, rearwardly and upwardly
from the upper wall 22 of the carrier body at a suitable angle and
is adapted for affixation of the shaft 11 thereto in accordance
with techniques well known in the art.
The carrier body 16 and integral hosel 13 may be fabricated of any
suitable material and in accordance with well known techniques.
However, it is preferred that synthetic materials of the type which
have become known as plastics be used due to the ease of
fabrication, light weight, and other desirable characteristics of
specific forms of such material. A particular material which has
been found to be ideally suited for this purpose is marketed under
the trademark, Lexan by the General Electric Co. As is known, Lexan
is a light weight extremely tough material having good dimensional
stability and which lends itself well to the injection molding
technique employed in fabrication of the carrier body 16 and hosel
13.
The striker insert 18 is formed of suitable metal such as brass,
stainless steel, and the like, and may be fabricated by machining
standard stock to the proper configuration or by any other commonly
employed technique such as casting. The striker insert 18 is of
generally rectangular configuration, which is sized as to length
and width to fit within the central opening 30 formed in the
carrier body 16, as will hereinafter be described in detail, and
has an elongated impact face 36 formed on one side thereof with an
opposite surface 38.
The impact face 36 of the striker insert 18 may be formed with a
loft 40 thereon which as best seen in FIG. 4, is the angular
deviation from vertical orientation of the impact face 36.
Generally speaking, most golf clubs are provided with a loft and
the normal loft of a putter is approximately 2.degree.. However, it
will be understood that the striker insert 18 can be fabricated
with any desired loft and in fact, can be formed with no loft.
The opposite surface 38 of the striker insert 18 is formed with a
central cavity 42 therein for receiving removable weights 44, as
will hereinafter be described, and is provided with a pair of slots
46 and 48 which are each located adjacent a different side of the
central cavity 42. Further, a pair of threaded bores 49 and 50 are
each formed adjacent a different one of the opposite ends of the
striker insert 18. The central cavity 42, the slots 46 and 48, and
the threaded bores 49 and 50, are formed so as to extend inwardly
into the striker insert 18 from the opposite surface 38 toward the
impact face 36, and the cavity 32 and slots 46 and 48 are open at
their opposite ends. The slots 46 and 48 are positioned in the
striker insert 18 so as to align with and receive the spaced pair
of uprights 32 and 34 provided in the central opening 30 of the
carrier body 16 when the striker insert 18 is installed
therein.
As hereinbefore mentioned, the retainer plate 20 also forms part of
the striker insert assembly and is shown as a generally rectangular
flat plate which is sized to fit into the central opening 30 formed
in the carrier body 16, and thus, is substantially equal in length
and width dimensions to the impact striker 18. The retainer plate
20 is provided with a pair of apertures 52 and 53 each formed
adjacent a different one of the opposite side edges of the plate,
with those apertures positioned so as to align with the threaded
bores 49 and 50 of the striker insert 18 when the plate 20 and
insert 18 are installed in the opening 30 of the carrier body
16.
As seen best in FIGS. 3 and 4, the striker insert assembly is
demountably attached to the carrier body 16 by inserting the
striker insert 18 into the central opening 30 so that the uprights
32 and 34 enter into the slots 46 and 48 and move into engagement
with the bottom surfaces of those slots. The retainer plate 20 is
then inserted into the central opening 30 from a direction which is
opposite to the direction from which the striker insert 18 was
installed. When the retainer plate 20 is thus installed, one of its
planar surfaces will be in engagement with the surface 38 of the
striker insert 18 and with the uprights 32 and 34, and the
apertures 52 and 53 of the plate 20 will be in alignment with the
threaded bores 49 and 50 of the striker insert 18. Suitable screws
54, such as the flat head Allen screw shown, are employed to affix
the plate 20 to the insert 18 which clamps the insert in straddling
engagement with the uprights 32 and 34 provided in the opening 30
of the carrier body 16.
It will be noted that the above described demountable affixing of
the striker insert assembly is shown as having been accomplished so
that the impact face 36 of the insert 18 is adjacent the first
planar surface 26 of the carrier body 16, with that orientation
providing a right hand configuration of the golf putter 10. By
simply reversing the directions that the insert 18 and the plate 20
are installed into the opening 30, the impact face 36 will be
located adjacent the second planar surface 38 of the carrier body
16 which results in a left hand configuration of the putter 10.
Another feature of the putter 10 is that if a golfer wishes, he can
reverse the loft 40 of the putter by installing the striker insert
18 in inverted orientation relative to that shown with the results,
of course, being that the golf ball (not shown) when struck by the
putter of such configuration will have different ball rolling
characteristics.
As hereinbefore mentioned, the central cavity 42 provided in the
striker insert 18 is adapted to contain removable weights 44. This
feature is provided so that a golfer can experiment with different
swing weights until he arrives at a particular weight which feels
right. This same feature also allows the golfer to change the swing
weight of this putter to suit conditions of particular putting
surfaces. For example, a predetermined amount of weight can be
added when the putting greens are wet and the added weight can be
removed when the greens are dry. Although any desirable form of
weights can be used, sheets or slabs of lead having a suitable
adhesive backing (not shown) are preferred in that the adhesive
will prevent the occurance of weight shifting and any distracting
noise which could occur with loose weights. An alternative to
adhesive backed lead weights would be to employ a suitable packing
material (not shown), such as foam rubber, to prevent loose weights
from moving in the cavity 42.
Although the retainer plate 20 is shown as being flat, that plate
could easily be replaced by other configurations of plates (not
shown) to alter the appearance and swing characteristics of the
golf putter 10. For example, the putter 10 could be easily
converted into the type of putter sometimes referred to as a mallet
head by simply replacing the retainer plate 20 with a plate (not
shown) having a protruding bulge formed thereon.
The golf putter 10 of the present invention as described above is
provided with inherent features which aid a golfer in mastering the
skill of putting. The first of these inherent features is derived
from the striker insert 18 and the retainer plate 20 protruding
oppositely from the opening 30 beyond the first and second planar
surfaces 26 and 28 of the carrier body 16. Such protruding visually
presents a pair of spaced parallel lines to the golfer and those
lines which extend longitudinally of the carrier body 16 are normal
to the path that a properly struck golf ball will follow, and thus,
will visually assist the golfer in lining up for a putt. The second
inherent feature of the putter of the present invention relates to
aiding the golfer in keeping the putter in as flat a plane as
possible during a putter stroke. As is well known, one of the
desirable skills needed in putting is to swing the putter in a flat
plane which is parallel to the ground or in the absence of such a
flat swing, the golfer should make sure that the bottom of an
arcuate or pendulous swing is reached simultaneously with making
contact with the ball. If a flat swing or a properly timed arcuate
swing is not achieved, hopping and other undesirable ball roll
characteristics can result. The putter 10 helps in this regard due
to the protruding impact surface 36 of the insert 18 and due to the
insert being located above the sole wall 23 of the carrier body 16.
In the event that the putter is improperly swung so that contact
with the ball is made by the leading or bottom edge of the impact
face 36, or is simultaneously made by that leading edge and the
sole wall 23, the golfer will immediately know what has occurred by
the feel of such impact.
While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in
an illustrated embodiment, there will be immediately obvious to
those skilled in the art, many modifications of structure,
arrangements, proportions, the elements, materials, and components
used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are
particularly adapted for specific environments and operation
requirements without departing from those principles. The appended
claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace any such
modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope
of the invention.
* * * * *